Background

Question: Can you briefly tell us a story that impacted the way you feel about animals?

Answer: Absolutely! I went to Riverdale Animal Rescue to learn more about pet adoption and was convinced to take home a very bad, 15 week old, Black lab puppy. The volunteer explained t me that puppies often go multiple cycles through the adoption process because families adopt them with unrealistic expectations. Puppies require a lot of work and a lot of patience, especially labs and other high-energy dogs.

Caring for her has certainly been a lot of work. She has destroyed many nice things including, astonishingly, a ten-foot-tall tree. But it has taught me so much about animal cognition, their contribution to the world as spiritual beings, how joyful it is to care for and about each other. She’s transformed my life for the better and made me reconsider my relationship to all animals.

Save Our Bacon Act/Farm Bill

Question: The EATS Act — now included in the House Farm Bill (the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026) as the ‘Save Our Bacon’ provision — would strip state and local governments of the authority to set animal welfare standards, gutting hundreds of laws nationwide and preventing our organization from working on effective animal welfare legislation, as our efforts would be undermined by out-of-state producers who would crowd our compliant farmers out of the market. Would you publicly oppose efforts to preempt animal protection laws, whether through the EATS Act, the current Farm Bill, or future versions of this legislation?

Answer: I would publicly oppose any efforts to preempt animal protection laws. I would also love to talk about what Adams County government can do to protect animals.

Climate-Friendly Food & Fair Competition

Question: The federal government spends billions annually subsidizing animal agriculture, with little regard for how that food is produced. Would you support policies to create a more level playing field between factory-farmed products and higher-welfare or plant-based alternatives — for example, reforming crop insurance and commodity support programs to reduce incentives for factory farming, directing federal procurement toward food produced to higher welfare and environmental standards, or supporting grant programs for farmers transitioning away from factory farming?

Answer: This is something I am very interested in, and would not only support but love to discuss with you all about implementation in Adams County.

Pain Relief

Question: The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends pain relief for common agricultural practices like castration, dehorning, teeth clipping, and tail docking; polling consistently shows that the vast majority of Americans support the same. Several countries, including the UK and members of the EU already require or incentivize pain relief for these procedures. Would you support requiring pain relief during painful procedures performed on farmed animals?

Answer: Yes, I would. Although some of these, e.g. tail docking, I would like to minimize or even ban in Adams County if possible.

Prohibit Force-Feeding Birds Act

Question: Pro-Animal Colorado has qualified the Prohibit Force-Feeding Birds Act for the 2026 Denver ballot. Would you endorse it?

Answer: I would.

OTHER

Question: What else would you like to share? Please add anything else that might be helpful regarding your past or current support for pro-animal policies.

Answer: As a practicing Buddhist, these are issues near and dear to my heart. I look forward to working with you to protect both wild and domestic animals in a way that does the kind thing and prepares us for a climate change future.